21 Up: Three Faces of Stephen

UP-MARKET

“A” pictures

Carrie (’76, Brian De Palma). Blood on a prom dress. A big hit, thanks to the last scene: Carrie’s graveyard grope.

The Shining (’80, Stanley Kubrick). “Hi, honey, I’m ho-ome!” The definitive writer’s-block movie — and a great film too.

The Dead Zone (’83, David Cronenberg). Affecting melodrama about precognition.

Christine (’83, John Carpenter). A homicidal ’58 Plymouth Fury. Tip-top deadpan satire.

Stand by Me (’86, Rob Reiner). Skittish, much loved, macho nostalgia. He wrote that?

The Running Man (’87, Paul Michael Glaser). Arnold Schwarzenegger on a killer quiz show. Big B.O.

Misery (’90, Rob Reiner). The definitive writer’s-block cure: Nurse Nasty (Oscar winner Kathy Bates) and her mallet.

DOWN-MARKET

“B” pictures

Creepshow (’82, George A. Romero). Five icky tales, all written by, one starring King; his tribute to E.C. horror comics.

Cujo (’83, Lewis Teague). Baaaad doggie menaces mom and kid in car. Elemental King; decent job.

Firestarter (’84, Mark L. Lester). Girl with pyro technique. Chance to catch | Drew Barrymore between her E.T. and People magazine stages.

Cat’s Eye (’85, Lewis Teague). Three tales. Most memorable: cat in a child’s bedroom.

Tales from the Darkside: the Movie (’90, John Harrison). Three-parter. One is King’s Cat from Hell — where else? — about a hit man (David Johansen) hired to kill a tabby.

The Lawnmower Man (’92, Brett Leonard). Virtual-reality video game. But virtually not King.

Sleepwalkers (’92, Mick Garris). A mother’s love can raise the dead.

MEAT-MARKET

for gore fans only

Children of the Corn (’84, Fritz Kiersch). Tykes who kill by overemoting.

Silver Bullet (’85, Daniel Attias). Where’s the werewolf? Who cares? A lycanthropic loser.

Maximum Overdrive (’86). King directed this daft nod to Jacques Tati’s Playtime. Trucks, toys and newlyweds go nuts in the all-time traffic jam.

A Return to ‘Salem’s Lot (’87, Larry Cohen). Inane non-sequel to King novel.

Creepshow 2 (’87, Michael Gornick). Three gory tales, few shivers.

Pet Sematary (’89, Mary Lambert). Surprise hit about a dead (then undead) child. Potent theme, schlocky treatment.

Graveyard Shift (’90, Ralph S. Singleton). The pureed bat gets “a 10 on the Barf-o-Meter,” says The Official Splatter Movie Guide.